Monster of the Dark
by homesweethomicide13
Summary: The young children of the three heroes are curious, and so Sharn tells them of the Monster of the Dark.


**Title:** Monster of the Dark  
**Author:** homesweethomicide13  
**Rating:** T  
**Pairing:** LiefJasmine, BardaLindal  
**Warnings:** Monsters? XD  
**Disclaimer: **I own the BardaLindal kids. That's it.  
**Summary:** The young children of the three heroes are curious, and so Sharn tells them of the Monster of the Dark.

**Author's Note:** Just thought I'd like to clear up the ages of the children.  
_BardaLindal kids: _Liam – 9, Mariah – 8, Jay and Joeley – 5, Kade and Divinity – Newborn.  
_LiefJasmine kids:_ Anna – 9, Jarred and Endon – 4.  
_MarilenRanesh kids:_ Josef – 10.

**Monster of the Dark**

The palace kitchen was busy in the mornings. The cooks were dashing to and fro, trying to prepare several things at once. The large table needed to be set, as always, and there were plenty other things to do. One sunny morning in early summer, however, was more hectic than usual, for now there were small children underfoot.

Sharn had managed to herd them around the table, but they were still getting in the way. Three children were already sat at the table, with their parents. Another woman sat there, laughing as Sharn kept trying to control the four children scurrying around the kitchen. Not far from her was a basket-like case in which two small babies were sleeping peacefully.

"You'll never do it, Sharn. They're terribly unruly." She said at last. Sharn sighed and gave Lindal a smile.

"How do you manage at breakfast in your home?" She asked, collapsing into a chair. Lindal laughed again.

"I don't. Barda does." Lief and Jasmine grinned. Beside them, their three children giggled happily. "Here, I'll get them out of the way for a moment." She turned to the four – three boys and a girl. "Who wants to go wake daddy up, hmm?"

"Me!" All four cried happily, before running out of the door, laughing. Lindal turned back to face Sharn.

"That'll keep them busy for a while. Barda's terrible at waking up." She laughed.

* * *

Barda opened his eyes to a brightly-lit room and he groaned. Rolling onto his side with the intention of going back to sleep, he buried his face into his pillow and reached out onto the other side of the bed. When his hand met the mattress instead of the warm body that should have been there, he lifted his head. Clearly Lindal had woken before him and already left. He lowered his head again. 

He'd had his eyes closed for only a brief second before four laughing children leapt upon him from all directions.

"Daddy wake up! Wake up!" A young boy with blue eyes yelled – that was Jay, his five-year-old son.

"Yeah wake up!" And that was Jay's twin, Joeley. The two were identical except for their eyes. Jay had blue, Joeley had brown. Kneeling beside him was his first daughter, Mariah, who couldn't look more like him if she tried. Standing beside the bed was his first-born, Liam. The boy was also a spitting image of him.

"Alright… I'm up…" He sighed, sitting up. He swung his legs out of bed and watched as his children scurried towards the door. He followed them – with less enthusiasm – to the kitchen. Everyone was waiting in there – Doom had joined them shortly after the kids had left – and he leant against the doorframe as Jay and Joeley ran up to Lindal.

"We did it Mommy! We woke Daddy up!" They both cried in unison. Lindal looked up and shot Barda a grin, who sighed.

"Boy, I just can't wait until the other two are big enough to do that every morning." He murmured sarcastically. He walked over to her and glanced quickly at the sleeping babies. Instantly a smile crossed his face. No matter what he said, he loved his children – all six of them – unconditionally, and wouldn't change them for the world. Even if they _did_ jump on him every morning.

* * *

If anyone thought the children were hyperactive enough as it was, they were in for a shock when the afternoon rolled around. Now even Lief and Jasmine's children were bouncing off the walls. It was nice to see them all playing together, though. Mariah and Anna, being the only two girls in the group (except for Divinity, but she was too young to play with them), were always together. Liam often joined them, too, but more often than not he was watching over the twins' play, making sure none of them got hurt. Jay, Joeley, Jarred and Endon were as unruly as each other, especially when the wooden swords came out. They were always sparring with each other, and had a constant tally of wins and losses. Broome vs. Del, they called it. 

By mid-afternoon, Sharn decided enough was enough and wanted them to calm down and relax. Jay had a terrible habit of teasing the palace guards, and then boasting that his 'daddy' had been the Chief, so they couldn't hurt him. So she rounded them all up in the library and sat them down on cushions on the floor.

"Who wants to hear a story?" She asked them. Instantly the four youngest boys grinned and their eyes lit up.

"What kind of story?" Joeley asked her. Sharn decided to take a chance.

"Well, what kind would you like to hear?" She only hoped it wasn't one she didn't know. Jay instantly jumped up and grinned.

"One with monsters!" She was certainly relieved. She knew plenty of stories involving monsters, and she knew just the right one to tell them.

"Ah, you and I are on the same wavelength there, Jay." She smiled. He sat back down and hugged his knees, already excited. Sharn was thankful that such young children were easily entertained. She gave Barda and Lindal credit for being able to control them. "I know just the story, too. It's the tale of the Monster of the Dark." She took the brief moment of awed silence to look over each of them.

Jarred and Endon looked just like Lief, though Endon had Jasmine's green eyes. They were both dressed in similar clothes to avoid argument. Jay and Joeley were almost identical twins. Asides from their different eye colour, and the fact that Joeley was slightly taller, they were exactly the same. They were both dressed in a simple shirt and black shorts, although the shirt colour varied. This was probably so people could tell them apart from a distance. Mariah was a tomboy, like her mother, and looked just like her father. Her beautiful black hair was tied back into a ponytail, making her blue eyes stand out. Anna looked just like Jasmine, even down to her green eyes. She was a beautiful young girl. Last of all was Liam – the very image of Barda. She could already see that he would grow into a handsome boy, and wouldn't be surprised if Liam wanted to become a palace guard, just like his father. Deciding that she'd better get on with the story, she took a sip of water and got comfortable.

"Now, a long time ago, a monster lived in the palace walls. He only ever came out at night, or wherever it was dark. He had this special power so that he was invisible to adults, and so only children could see him. He was a terrible monster, with big teeth and claws and red eyes. He used to lie in wait for foolish children to stumble by in the dark, and then he'd snatch them up and eat them." She watched their faces carefully, and noted that all of them were fully entranced. Before she could go any further, a boy of ten walked over and smiled softly.

"Excuse me, but would you mind if I listened too?" He asked in a quiet voice. Sharn smiled warmly.

"Of course, Josef, sit down and make yourself comfortable." He smiled and sat down. Nodding briefly, Sharn continued with the story. "Now, most children had heard about this monster before and stayed away from dark places, and stayed in their beds at night, because the monster couldn't get them there. Once you're in your bed, you see, you're protected by your parents, and the monster if afraid of parents.

"There was one child, however, that did not believe this monster existed. It was a girl, about seven years old. She waited until her parents had gone to bed and crept out of her room. She wandered around the palace, searching for a really dark place. She had to hide many times from palace guards, because the children weren't allowed to walk around the palace after dark, because of the monster. It was when she was hiding from yet another palace guard that she found the monster.

"She could feel something moving around behind her in the dark, and so she turned to face it. At first she could see nothing, because it was so dark, but then she saw the movement and then the red eyes appeared out of nowhere. She did not scream because she was braver than that. Instead she lifted her chin and stared it in the eye defiantly. And then she spoke. 'Mr Monster sir', she said, for she had been taught to be polite, 'Why do you only live in the dark?' she asked.

"The monster was surprised that this little girl was not afraid of him, and so he replied. 'Because the dark is my home' he said, 'I am the monster of the dark.' The girl was not impressed. 'Why do you eat children?' she asked him. The monster shifted uneasily in the darkness, not used to being questioned by his prey. 'Because they are tasty'. He replied. Again, the girl was not impressed. 'I can think of many things far tastier than children.' She told him. The monster was curious now. 'Name one'.

"The girl thought for a moment before replying. 'Yesterday I tasted this thing called fish. It has a rather salty taste but it is delicious.' The monster didn't say anything for a moment. 'I will bargain with you.' He said at last. 'I will not eat you now, but tomorrow night you must bring me this thing you call fish. If I think it is better than children, I will stop eating them. If I don't, I shall eat you instantly.' The girl pondered this. 'Okay,' she said. 'I will bring you some fish tomorrow.'

"She did as she said, and brought some fish to the monster the next night. It had been difficult to sneak it past her parents, but she had managed it. She threw it down to the ground in front of her. 'There, monster. That is the fish you asked for.' There was nothing for a moment, and then a long, pink tongue came out of the darkness and curled around the fish. The fish disappeared and there was chomping noises in the darkness. After a moment, the monster spoke. 'This fish is indeed good, but it is not better than children.' He growled. The girl did not panic. 'Wait before you eat me, Mr Monster sir. Perhaps you would like to try some chicken?'

"There was more silence. 'Very well. Tomorrow, bring me some chicken.' She did as he asked and the next night, the monster tasted chicken for the first time. Again, he said it was not better than children. The girl brought several different foods to him each night, but still he preferred the taste of children. Finally she had run out of foods for him to try. 'Mr Monster sir, is there nothing to your taste?' she asked him. 'I sense that you have no more foods left, little girl. Now I shall eat you.' She felt the darkness move and saw those red eyes gleam. And then she had a thought. 'Wait, please, Mr Monster sir, one more night. I have one more idea. If that does not please you, then you may eat me tomorrow night.' The monster paused. 'Agreed. I look forward to eating you, little girl.'

"The next night, the girl gave her last food sample to the monster. It had been very hard to get it, but she had managed. The monster tasted it, thinking he was going to prefer children over it like he had for all the others. But when he ate it, his red eyes sparkled and his mouth watered. He swallowed heartily and looked at the girl. 'Do tell me, little girl, what is this rich, aromatic taste?' The girl smiled. 'That is called chocolate, Mr Monster sir.' She told him. 'Chocolate, you say? Very well. You have won our bargain, little girl. This is far tastier than children. I shall stop eating children now, and live only on chocolate.' The girl gave a curtsey and smiled again. 'Thank you, Mr Monster sir, you are very kind.'

"She turned and left the darkness and returned home. The next morning, she was questioned by her parents about the missing chocolate. She simply smiled and said 'I gave it to the Monster of the Dark so he would stop eating children.' Her parents were so shocked at her honest tone that they decided to believe her, and she spread the word to the other children that the Monster of the Dark preferred chocolate. From that moment on, any children out in the dark would carry a chocolate bar with them, in case the monster appeared in front of them." Sharn smiled. "The end."

"Wow!" Jay exclaimed. "I want to meet that monster!"

"But it's not dark!" Jarred pointed out.

"And you don't have any chocolate." Joeley added. Jay shrugged.

"I still want to meet him." Sharn was pleased that they'd all enjoyed the story. She looked up and found, to her surprise, that Marilen, Ranesh, Lief, Jasmine, Doom, Lindal and Barda were all stood leaning against the far wall. They'd clearly listened to the story as well. The children turned and saw their parents, and so they all walked over.

"That was some story, Sharn." Doom smiled. "I remember hearing about that particular monster." Barda nodded agreement.

"Aye, me too." Jay jumped up and tugged on Barda's sleeve.

"Did _you_ meet him daddy?" He asked, eyes sparkling. Joeley soon joined Jay's side, curious. Barda grinned.

"You bet I did." The boys exchanged excited glances.

"Were you scared, daddy?" Mariah asked with a giggle. Liam stood behind her, smiling. Barda went to reply, but was cut off by Jay.

"Course daddy wasn't scared!"

"Yeah, daddy's real brave and probably scared the monster off!" Joeley agreed. The adults laughed. Clearly the twins thought a lot of their father, perhaps even admired him. Mariah grinned.

"I'd have scared him off, nice n proper!" She lifted her hands, which were now balled into fists. "I'd teach him not to scare little kids, and I'd make sure he wouldn't eat them either!" She mocked fighting the monster, and Barda turned to Lindal with a smile.

"Like mother, like daughter." Lindal laughed and shook her head. She pointed at Mariah, who still had her fists raised and now had a very familiar smirk on her face.

"No, like _father_, like daughter." She corrected. She shifted the weight of the two newborns in her arms, and Barda stepped in, taking little Divinity from her with a smile.

"I wonder if this one will be a fighter too." He laughed.

"She's the daughter of the scariest woman alive, and the ex-Chief of the palace guards. What do you think?" Lief grinned.

"Scariest woman alive?" Lindal questioned with a laugh.

"I second that." Barda murmured. She turned to him and raised her eyebrows, and he smiled. "Didn't say I didn't like it." She grinned. "You are pretty scary though."

"You should be used to it, Barda. Your mother was pretty darn scary when she wanted to be." Doom added with a smile.

"Well it is tradition for the men in my family to marry women who have the potential to beat them up." He looked at Liam. "You hear that, kiddo? You'll end up with a scary wife, too." Liam laughed.

"I'll look forward to it." Nobody noticed that he stole a quick glance at Anna when he spoke.


End file.
